Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The phrase “composite on
molar” typically refers to when insurance will not pay for white filling
(composite) on molar tooth. Instead, the
insurance will only pay the cost of silver filling material. Thus, even when the
coverage is set to 100%, in practice, it’s actually 100% of the lower price (silver
filling), and the difference will be charged to the patient.

Let’s illustrate how it can be setup in ClearDent. Before we start, one thing to keep in mind is
that ClearDent has already preset this rule for major insurance companies such
as Pacific Blue Cross, but as this configuration is changeable by the user, if
it somehow is not working as you expect, you can follow the example below.

Composite code
(corresponding silver code)

23321 to 23325 (21241 to
21245)

23511 to 23515 (21121 to
21125)

To set it up, you need
to create additional customized fee guide, and name it accordingly, such as naming
it with the phrase “Composite" at the end of the fee guide name to
differentiate it from standard fee guides.

System > Configurations >
Fee Schedule

Add new fee schedule > choose current standard fee guide as base so
all the codes and prices will be copied to this new fee guide

Write down prices for
21241-21245 and 21121-21125, and enter those prices into their corresponding
codes in the range of 23321-23325 and 23511-23515 (as described above), save
it. You can close fee guide configuration windows now.

Go back to that
patient's insurance policy, modify it, on the left hand side, you will see that
you can choose that new guide you created as the price guide line this
insurance policy follows.

You are done. In the
future, you can use the same fee guide for any policy that follows this same
coverage rule, just repeat step 4 for those policy. (Note: You will need to
re-create these new custom fee guides every year after we update your system
with new fee guides, such as for 2013.)

Once setup, office will
bill 23321($135), but even with 100% coverage, insurance is only responsible
for $102 (price of 21241), and patient will be responsible for $33.NEW in ClearDent Version 8.4As you can see, the
method above is simple to follow, but it does require going to a couple
different windows to do the setup. In
version 8.4 and later, the process has been vastly simplified and you can enter
“composite on molar” or any other types of exceptions right where you setup a
patient’s new insurance.To illustrate the
flexibility, let’s look at another common insurance rule – coverage for scaling
and root planing are different.Example: Root Planing is
at 80%, but Scaling is at 100%.You can Enter 80 in
SC/RP first.

Next go to exception tab
and enter range of 11111-11117 (meaning from code 11111 to 11117) that is
covered at 100%

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

No More Paper Waitlist

When I went to an Italian restaurant few months ago, no
tables were available and we were told we had to wait for 30 mins. The host asked
for a cell phone number to text when our
seat was ready. We went for a coffee and enjoyed a good chat. This is what I
received from the restaurant.

The restaurant was using No Wait. This communication
tool saves customers time as well and restaurants
organizes their wait list much more effectively. Goodbye paper wait list!

I was impressed. Your
patients can be impressed, too.

Paperless and Patient Communication Tools in Dental Industry

Maintaining good relationships with patients is a crucial
aspect of a dental practice and many dental offices have started using e-newsletters to promote
special offers and encourage referral
They are also using it to e-mail/automated calls/SMS to remind next
appointments etc.

Using these patient communication tools will result in
profitable practice as well as better patient care.

For example, ClearDent offers ClearConnect which is secure,
robust patient communication system that is totally integrated within the
ClearDent software. When patient confirms the appointment, confirmation status
will be updated automatically in ClearDent.

How to Take Advantage of Technology

How do you avoid no-shows, late cancellations, losing
patients? It’s time to revisit your communication strategy and take advantage
of online patient communication system – a new and exciting development in the
dental field.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

We are excited to announce that ClearDent 8.4 will be available on November 30, 2012. Version upgrades are always FREE and can easily be done by scheduling a time with us so we can connect to your computers and perform the upgrade.Please do note that to upgrade, you need to ensure your computers meet the specifications. If we determine that your computers are not capable enough, we will decline the upgrade in your best interest until you have the opportunity to upgrade them.This upgrade will take time and you will not be able to use your computers during the process. Time required to complete the upgrade will depend on the number of computers you have. Therefore, in order to ensure that the upgrade completes during your planned down time, such as over lunch time or on a day that your office is closed, contact Technical Support at least a week ahead to schedule.ClearDent Technical Support: 1-866-253-2748 x 2 or Email at support@cleardent.comHours: Monday - Friday, 5:45 AM to 5:00 PM PST (8:45 AM to 8:00 PM ET)The new version includes a lot of new features and enhancements that have been requested by you! We'd like to thank you for your continued support and feedback. You can submit new feature requests on our website. Here's a sneak peek at ClearDent version 8.4.

You can add individual exceptions to patient's dental coverage

Built-in chart audit report that helps be on top of patient's oral healthcare cycle

Improved workflow in treatment planning and scheduling

New Charting and Imaging integration

New conditions and drawings in Charting

Encrypted emails for images and documents in compliance with new privacy guideline

And more...

FREE Webinars for Customers: The New Features that Let You Do More in Version 8.4

To ensure that you know how to take advantage of the new features, and also to celebrate the inaugural launch of our training webinars, we will offer the following two webinars for FREE when you register by Nov 26th.

Monday, November 19, 2012

To maintain compliance, dental offices must encrypt images and documents that are sent electronically for chart transfer or referral to a different dentist. Until now, there haven’t been a lot of options, let alone an easy-to-use option.

The process of encryption can be challenging. Join us to see ClearDent's solution and how we're able to make it a one click process.

See ClearDent's resolution in our Webinar Series this November 20 & 27. Register for free, and learn about all the ClearDent Advantage.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Our condolence to people affected by recent earthquake and
hurricane Sandy. As a technology solution
provider to dental healthcare professionals who rely on our products and
services to manage practice data electronically, we would like to use this
opportunity to discuss disaster recovery plan to help you better protect your
data. The concept presented in this
article is applicable not just to the data that ClearDent generates and manages
(charts, financials, documents, and digital images), but also to ANY other software
that you use at home and at work.

According to a recent study by Symantec, 57% of small businesses do not have adequate or any disaster protections. Therefore, in addition to damages that are
potentially caused by natural disasters, even regular wear and tear on
computers can create catastrophic consequences, such as irrecoverable data loss.

On the other hand, it is very easy to create backup copies with digital dental records, much more so than you can with paper charts. Therefore, we strongly suggest that you take
advantage of this and create a proper back plan, which protects your invaluable
data from natural disasters and regular wear and tear.

1. Invest
in an Online Backup System

In addition to manual, on-site backup to
external hard drives or USB keys, having an online back that stores your data
offsite and encrypted is crucial.

For ClearDent users, we have a simple,
easy-to-setup, and cost effective online backup system – ClearVault. Starting at $19.95 for the first GB and $4.95
for each additional GB, you can backup your ClearDent database, digital images
and even other 3rd party software data. Further, ClearVault stores yearly auditable
copies and meets legal healthcare record retention
requirement in Canada.

There are, of course, other online backup
systems. These 3rd party
online backup systems can also be used to backup ClearDent, but unlike ClearVault,
which automatically knows where to look for all the data that ClearDent
generates and manages, you need to be conscious and careful to ensure these 3rd
party systems are backing up the “right” data.
Otherwise, you are effectively not getting what you paid for. More importantly, you need to ensure these 3rd
party systems also have a data retention policy meeting or exceeding your provincial healthcare
record retention requirement.

2. Share
the Plan with Your Staff

Think about possible natural or man-made
emergency situation and establish your disaster contingency plan. Discuss or
share with your staff so everyone could follow its protocol when something
happens.

Social media such as Facebook and Twitter
are accessible from a smart phone or a computer, and it is a great tool to let
patients know about your situation in addition to regular phone calls. Images above
are some of the samples that Facebook and Twitter posts from various New York
dental offices posted during hurricane Sandy.

So, does your practice have a disaster recovery plan?

Please feel free to contact a ClearDent
representative by emailing info@cleardent.com or call 1-866-253-2748. We’d be more than happy to give our advice for FREE. Or, if you are an existing
ClearDent customer and would like to get more information about ClearVault,
your dedicated ClearDent consultant will be more than happy to provide them.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Please note that ClearDent Support will be closed for
Remembrance Day. We will, however, have our Emergency Pager number available
between 9am – 5pm PST should you need to get in touch with support for any
URGENT matters. The Emergency Pager number is 604-292-2268.

On Friday, November 16, 2012:

ClearDent Support will be
closed from 12pm to 5pm PST (3pm to 8pm ET). The business hours for this
day will be 5:45am to 12pm PST (8:45am to 3pm ET). The ClearDent Support team will
be attending an important training session to improve our skills so we can serve you better in the
future. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may
cause.

Want to keep up-to-date with
what’s happening at ClearDent and technology in dentistry? Are you an
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"Looking at the big picture, it becomes obvious that maintaining the traditional dental chart is not free. In fact, it is very costly. ... looking strictly at the dollars and cents as outlined in the table should give you a new perspective on the long–term investment in your practice. Plug your own numbers into the table and see what you're leaving on the table."